SYTYCD: This Weeks Picks

So You Think You Can Dance started up again. Yay! I think I'm going to pick my top three favorites every week, even though that might be REALLY difficult. This week I picked more though because the show has run for two weeks... so I'm allowing myself to pick more.  Dance is such an inspiration and tells an amazing story and emotion. Hope you like. :) Makes me miss dancing soooo much. 

A Lovely Thing: Summer Internship

Hello! This summer has come upon 

me more quickly than I expected.  As you know, I am an apparel merchandising major at OSU, and with that we are required to do an internship during the summer of our junior year! I am so lucky to have a job at Terri's in the Plaza Shopping Center in Tulsa.  This job was truly a blessing and I am absolutely loving it! I work with some really talented, fun, and amazing people. They are all excellent at what they do! I'm learning so much I can't even believe it!! I sure hope that I can be on my way to owning my own boutique someday and run it this effectively in such a relaxed and thrilling environment!

They are looking to spice up their advertising, and so I offered to help them begin a blog for their store so that we can post pictures of new merchandise and of the store itself.  I thought it would be more fun for customers to get to know the people of Terri's as Terri, the owner, has placed such an emphasis on customer service and truly getting to know each and every one of her customers on a personal basis. It's going to be fun and exciting! We are currently working on the Twitter and Facebook pages for both, so I will let you know when we get all that up and running! 

For now, enjoy some pictures of the shop! I will probably post some pictures if I get excited about a window display or in-store display I've done. I get to re-merchandise the entire store with a new floor plan sometime next week (I'm nervous!)!! It will be a lot of fun and a great learning experience, though. 

I also get to try on all the new stuff that comes in... so there might be pictures of that too!! If you're in the area, stop by and see me and the rest of the lovely girls at Terri's!

Some clothing lines we carry: Joie, Elizabeth & James, Graham & Spencer, Nicole Miller, Milly, Haute Hippie, Vince, James Perse, and Michael Stars. 

Some denim lines we carry: True Religion, Citizen of Humanity, Genetic, Hudson, and J Brand. 

Some jewelry lines we carry: Mi & Ro and Virgins, Saints, and Angels, plus many more!

Music: Jeremy Larson

Obviously I have already shared that I love Jeremy Larson's music (Elsie Flannigan's...(now Larson!) husband).  He makes BEAUTIFUL music.  The instrumentals of this album are absolutely incredible.  While the theme seems a bit nostalgic and melancholy, the melodies and harmonies of each song are riveting. So inspiring. Upon talking to him, he mentioned that he put this entire album together in a matter of 2 or 3 months... while planning a wedding.  That's insane.  And it's beautiful.  Please listen to its entirety.  If it won't work for some reason, try this.  Amazing.  I will forever love this album, as it is on the top of my list. 

A Lovely Thing: Bead4Life

I am a member of MADA (Merchandising and Apparel Design Association) at OSU.  This year our officers chose to help out an organization called Bead4Life.  Basically, there are women in Uganda who are trying to fight their poverty situation by creating beautiful bracelets and selling them for a low price in America. They use recycled paper to make the beads for each bracelet, which also helps with environmental sustainability issues. They also collect shea nuts to make amazing shea butter soaps and lip balms.  Bead4Life provides training for these women to begin their own entrepreneurship endeavors.  Hopefully within 18 months of working with Bead4Life, they can enter the Ugandan economy on their own to support themselves with their business. The women are paid fair trade prices while working with Bead4Life.  I purchased a couple of the bracelets. I chose a turquoise and a red one! They are really unique! Check out their website here and help support these women and their families! 

Embracing Who Everyone Thinks I Am: Zooey Deschanel

The last time I did this, I told you that people said I look like Shelley Duvall, but I also am told that I resemble Zooey Deschanel.  Who wouldn’t love her? She’s fun, outgoing, gorgeous, and an extremely talented actress.  Aside from the bangs, style of dress, type of music she sings, and the love of acting; I don’t really think we look all that similar.  She is quite petite, and has blue eyes.  Okay so maybe that's more alike than not... Nonetheless, I am still told that I remind people of her all the time.  Here are some lovely pictures of her…

Simply Music

So some of this is going to sound absolutely crazy to some people, but I suppose these are my personal thoughts so it makes perfect sense to me. Music is something that is extremely important to me. It is who I am. It is innate. I feel as though music is the way I speak and emote.  I have never been good with words, unless I memorize and speak them to an audience.  I am not great at verbally asking questions or answering them on cue.  The words just do not come to me as they so eloquently flow out of others’ mouths. If only I could play someone a clip of music to express what I am trying so desperately to say at moments in time. I also understand better through music.  I’m often explained a concept verbally, but when you put it into music terms it just makes so much more sense. That sounds absurd, but it’s the truth!

Music is real and so utterly vulnerable. That’s the best way I can think to describe it. It shows all the inner emotions we so fear to express at times. Music is often the only thing that makes sense. It can take my mind off of things and yet throw me into such vivid memories. Then there are times when I choose not to feel at all.  The numbness is articulated through melodies.  The lyrics don’t always matter. It’s just the sound of the piano, the strings, the horns, and the bass thumping in your heart. Instrumentals can speak volumes if you let them. If someone asked me to describe my life at the moment, I believe I’d be better off just sitting them down and playing a piece of music. Most people don’t understand this longing for depth in music.  For more than words. It’s not just a lyric or a rhyme.  It’s a feeling, a movement, a story, an emotion. Something not feasible. I hate the moment that a song comes to an end.

I drift into another world when I put my earbuds in, or play a song loudly in my car. When I am alone, I outstretch my arms through the car window and just sing loudly. Sometimes it serves as a form of praise, other times it’s just a moment to myself to speak what I cannot utter with words. Something inside of me changes. It enraptures me. Sometimes I simply just lay on the floor and let the music overtake my soul. That sounds ridiculous, but it’s true. It can speak volumes. It’s as if the music understands me. Breathes me. I firmly believe that music is one of the many ways God speaks to me and through me.  It is my instrument. I hear His voice loudest when I hear the sound of music.  I think this is because I can simply shut off my thoughts and just listen.  Listening is a beautiful concept. 

I often wonder what the world would be like without music. Other times I wonder how interesting life could be if I had a soundtrack constantly playing to my life. What bands would play? At what moments would the music chime in? If only for a day I could have this happen… It would be so cool! What would my theme song be? Music is a need for me. After listening to a song, I feel as though I must play the piano, dance, or sing.  Immediately.  It is a great desire. Sometimes I feel dumb because I’m not in the appropriate place to do so and it just eats at me.

Music is so important to  me in a sense of movement as well. I envision dances from my past and how the subtle motions were turned into an emotion screaming at the audience.  I wish to dance for those who’ve forgotten how to feel. For freedom. For sadness. For joy. For pain. To free inhibitions.  For art and love and feeling. Sometimes I visualize dances and songs that would play as I reach for my dreams, hopes, and desires.  Again, this may not make sense to you, but in my head I see beautiful motions of many dancers pouring their hearts out with choreography to the most melodious of songs.

Music is raw. It is beauty. It is pain. It is truth. It is love. It is art. It is transparent. It is a feeling, an emotion. It is inviting, enticing. It teaches. It listens. It plays on when you cannot.

I often wonder if anyone else out there feels the same way I do about music. 

Word of the Day: "Dulcet"

I happened upon this list of the "most beautiful words in the English language".  There are 100 words on this list.  So, I thought I would try to eventually share them all with you through a word of the day.  Not necessarily every single day, but when I have the time.  Maybe this while help enhance your vocabulary! Some of them have rather strange meanings, but I can see how people thought these words were eloquent.  Today's word is "dulcet", which means sweet or sugary. However dictionary.com defines it as "pleasant to the ear; melodious".